protecting walls when hanging tools on wall

[stickshift]

I'm organizing the garage and hanging a bunch of stuff on the wall. What to do about protecting the walls from the bottom of items that want to swing into the wall when being hung from hooks? I was thinking I could cut a strip of 1/2" foam board and secure via drywall anchors, but figured GJ would have good ideas. Simple and cheap solutions welcomed, and while manually placing a piece of cardboard each time I hang the tool up is simple and cheap, I also want low maintenance.

 

[BrandonV]

My low tech solution is a 2x4 with carpet tacked on.

 

[racecougar]

Plywood painted to match the wall?

 

[LOW1]

Plywood painted to match the wall?

Or add a little elegance to Chateau Cesspool: Unstained Oak plywood with three coats of polyurethane on it.

 

[Bucko]

For simple and cheap you could find some free pallets and use the boards for a backing panel and give it a little character. Attach them to a sheet of Luan as a backer so its easy to hang and later remove if needed.

 

[bb29510]

its plywood, the hell with the wall, i even write on my walls with a marker

 

[Bert_]

Its a wall in a garage, isn't it durable enough to handle it?

 

[no704]

Peel and stick tiles?

 

[PCustoms]

Its a wall in a garage, isn't it durable enough to handle it?

Exactly.

Its a garage, of something gets a little dinged so he it.

 

[Bert_]

Exactly.

Its a garage, of something gets a little dinged so he it.

That's why it blows my mind the number of people who drywall a garage.

 

[sparky 1971]

Run some 1/4" OSB around the bottom? I look at scratches and dings in the shop walls as building character. But I also use screwdrivers in place of chisels and prybars as well as substituting Crescent wrenches and Linemans pliers for hammers.

 

[PCustoms]

That's why it blows my mind the number of people who drywall a garage.

I've been in 2 drywalled garages (one a rental). Not ideal imho, but also not too much damage.

But looking for special protection to hang a handsaw on the wall is ridiculous

 

[bb29510]

Run some 1/4" OSB around the bottom? I look at scratches and dings in the shop walls as building character. But I also use screwdrivers in place of chisels and prybars as well as substituting Crescent wrenches and Linemans pliers for hammers.

i like a treated 1x4 on the bottom, so if something hits the bottom edge, who cares

 

[stickshift]

Its a wall in a garage, isn't it durable enough to handle it?

Good question. I was specifically thinking of a pair of steel vehicle ramps. The lower edge is fairly sharp and it wants to swing into the wall. But I suppose it's easier to eventually patch the dent in the drywall than bother with fastening something to the wall and have to patch that at some point. So I'll just leave it.

That's why it blows my mind the number of people who drywall a garage.

Attached garage. Aren't they always drywalled? Have seen many attached garages, never seen one that wasn't drywalled.

 

[sparky 1971]

i like a treated 1x4 on the bottom, so if something hits the bottom edge, who cares

I think he's concerned about things like shovels swinging from the hanging hooks. I meant the bottom couple of feet of the wall. A 3' piece wouldn't work too well with sheets, but a 2' rip or a full 4' piece would. My garage now is concrete block, but the last one had 8' ceilings so I drywalled the ceiling and top half of the walls, but ran 4X8X1/2 OSB around the bottom half.

 

[sparky 1971]

Good question. I was specifically thinking of a pair of steel vehicle ramps. The lower edge is fairly sharp and it wants to swing into the wall. But I suppose it's easier to eventually patch the dent in the drywall than bother with fastening something to the wall and have to patch that at some point. So I'll just leave it.


Attached garage. Aren't they always drywalled? Have seen many attached garages, never seen one that wasn't drywalled.

Just get a 2X4 sheet of some type of panel, OSB, CDX, pegboard, etc and screw it to the wall where the ramps will hang. No need to get fancy, it is just a garage.

 

[Jgaz]

A few of my signs provide a bit of protection under the blower, power wash wand, etc.
Wasn't really planned, just sorta worked out that way

​

 

[nadogail]

Peg Board

 

[csp]

Seems like just being careful when hanging things on the wall would go a long way.

 

[Bert_]

Attached garage. Aren't they always drywalled? Have seen many attached garages, never seen one that wasn't drywalled.

Maybe 50% or less around here get drywall. A lot of people use plywood, OSB or white tin is pretty popular too. The ones that get drywall are usually just used for parking, no mechanic work.

 

[WisJim]

I've used fiberglass milkhouse panels where I needed a tough surface. But now I don't worry about it.

 

[stickshift]

Maybe 50% or less around here get drywall. A lot of people use plywood, OSB or white tin is pretty popular too. The ones that get drywall are usually just used for parking, no mechanic work.

Interesting. Plywood would have been more useful for my purposes, but in my neighborhood the attached garages were drywalled when initially built decades ago. Not worth removing and installing plywood/OSB.

 

[madison069]

Maybe 50% or less around here get drywall. A lot of people use plywood, OSB or white tin is pretty popular too. The ones that get drywall are usually just used for parking, no mechanic work.

Depending on your location, but in my area it's code to drywall the attached garage due to fire code requirements. Plywood wouldn't pass the inspection. Just like it's required to install a solid core door between the attached garage and the house. As for detached garage, my location don't care what you do as long as the building is built decently.

As for your situation @stickshift , I think a piece of 1/4" plywood on the wall would keep the sharp edges of the ramp from cutting the drywall and provide a desinated home for the ramp. Or you could use linoleum on the wall, especially those peel and stick kind would be easier and depending on the brand it can be removed easily in the future.

 

[CraigStu]

Another option would be the fiberglass panel. It is thin but I have it on the bottom of my 5x10 trailer since it makes it easier to slide brush out at the dump and a year of use and no punctures or rips.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sequentia-48-in-x-96-in-Embossed-White-Fiberglass-Reinforced-Plastic-FRP-Wall-Panel/1000174771

 

[Bert_]

Depending on your location, but in my area it's code to drywall the attached garage due to fire code requirements. Plywood wouldn't pass the inspection. Just like it's required to install a solid core door between the attached garage and the house. As for detached garage, my location don't care what you do as long as the building is built decently.

We have zero enforcement for anything except electrical and septic.

 

[Jacko264]

Fit magnets so the bottom of the tools stick to the magnets

 

[quadrcr87]

Another option would be the fiberglass panel.

FRP is a great option, especially if you have white painted drywall walls. Hang the sheet in the area designated for storage and place your hangers across the top. I've seen people use stainless or aluminum sheets as well but that gets expensive.

Everyone seems to be giving the OP a hard time about protecting his walls, but not me. I've had several garages with flat white painted drywall and am annoyed by all the marks. The worst offenders are tires that leave a black streak. There is nothing wrong with striving for a clean and damage free working garage. Take a look at professional race shop. F1, NASCAR, MotoGP, Etc. They are not letting their broom handles scuff the walls.

 

[Joe Reed]

Surprised no one has mentioned diamond plate....a strip of plain metal would also work - and be much cheaper

 

[csp]

Depending on your location, but in my area it's code to drywall the attached garage due to fire code requirements.

It's only code to drywall the walls that adjoin living space.

 

[NUTTSGT]

That's why it blows my mind the number of people who drywall a garage.

Ding ding.

Winner in my opinion.

 

[bwringer]

I cobbled together a simple rack for boards and materials in one otherwise useless corner of my drywalled garage, and lined the drywall behind it with 1/4" plywood.

There's cheaper stuff that comes in panels, but it all seems to have a very thin layer on top that soon scrapes off and looks even worse. Plywood (or OSB) is pretty much the same all the way through, so it can take a lot more abuse.

 

[durbancic]

FRP is a great option, especially if you have white painted drywall walls. Hang the sheet in the area designated for storage and place your hangers across the top. I've seen people use stainless or aluminum sheets as well but that gets expensive.

Everyone seems to be giving the OP a hard time about protecting his walls, but not me. I've had several garages with flat white painted drywall and am annoyed by all the marks. The worst offenders are tires that leave a black streak. There is nothing wrong with striving for a clean and damage free working garage. Take a look at professional race shop. F1, NASCAR, MotoGP, Etc. They are not letting their broom handles scuff the walls.

Yeah, frp is pretty tough to mess up. It doesn't readily stain, is easy to clean. Very tough product.

 

[PoorUB]

That's why it blows my mind the number of people who drywall a garage.

It blows my mine that people think drywall in a garage is a bad thing.

I have a garage that over the years has seen a bunch of work and there have been very few holes knocked into the walls. Really, no holes, but maybe a few large gouges.

Do you guys in a fit of frustration, randomly throw **** around the shop?

Last fall I did a major window remodel on one wall. A bit of the drywall was rotten from moisture and that problem has been cured with the new window, or the lack off. The garage was built in 1987. So 37 years of use and it finally required some patching, that was not related to the use of the building. There were 3-4 light gouges that were repaired.

I had a small engine shop. I had two mechanics, besides myself. Walls were sheet rock. Once a year we would wash it down and paint. I had comments all the time of how nice the shop looked.

Drywall is easily repaired. In my home shop I repaint about every 10-15 years. Put up tin and and some impact would require replacing the tin, and then the old will not match the new tin color as the paint fades or gets dirty that will not wash out. Wafer board, might hold up a bit better, but a major dent you would have to replace a sheet, no way to do a spot repair and make it look decent.

I like sheet rock in a home shop. I have been in shop with tin and a buddy built a shop and used OSB. I don't like OSB. Tin is ok.

 

[PoorUB]

Good question. I was specifically thinking of a pair of steel vehicle ramps. The lower edge is fairly sharp and it wants to swing into the wall. But I suppose it's easier to eventually patch the dent in the drywall than bother with fastening something to the wall and have to patch that at some point. So I'll just leave it.

Something like ramps I might take a piece of plywood and mount to the wall then hang the ramps over it. Or a couple 1x4 boards, one run horizontally at the top where the hooks are, and another horizontally at the lower part of the ramp for a bumper. Then paint to match that wall.

 

[PoorUB]

We have zero enforcement for anything except electrical and septic.

I get a kick out of most "zero enforcement" areas. It is like they try hard to avoid building codes, like they are a bad thing. Most areas still have building codes to follow, but with no enforcement they get ignored. I live in a large city that has very rigid enforcement of codes and find it shocking to go into homes in areas with no code enforcement. I also used to sell at a HVAC wholesaler and traveled a a fairly large area. With the places with no code enforcement, many of the homes I was in were scary. Many I would not lived in with all the violations. Just because there is no inspections doesn't mean you can willingly ignore code.

So Bert, you would not bother with drywall in an attached garage, simply because there is nobody to enforce the codes?!

 

[Bert_]

Bert, you would not bother with drywall in an attached garage, simply because there is nobody to enforce the codes?!

I wouldn't use it because it's a terrible material for a garage. Could you cover the drywall with plywood or something? That would be worth considering.

It blows my mine that people think drywall in a garage is a bad thing.

It's not anything punching holes in it. It's when you hang stuff on the wall or lean things in the corner. After a few years of use you have gouges worn in the sheetrock.

I have a corner where I lean short pieces of angle iron and pipe. I imagine drywall might last a week there!

Even in my house I notice little dings in the drywall since it was finished 5 years ago. Just from simple stuff like a couch that was touching an inside corner or a shelf touching the wall. It's not major damage but it has happened. I think a garage would get harder treatment than a house.

 

[PoorUB]

I wouldn't use it because it's a terrible material for a garage. Could you cover the drywall with plywood or something? That would be worth considering.


It's not anything punching holes in it. It's when you hang stuff on the wall or lean things in the corner. After a few years of use you have gouges worn in the sheetrock.

I have a corner where I lean short pieces of angle iron and pipe. I imagine drywall might last a week there!

Even in my house I notice little dings in the drywall since it was finished 5 years ago. Just from simple stuff like a couch that was touching an inside corner or a shelf touching the wall. It's not major damage but it has happened. I think a garage would get harder treatment than a house.

I have a corner in the shop with a pile of iron bar stock. I painted it last fall, there wasn't any damage worth patching up. A couple tiny dings, maybe an 1/8" square, but that is about it. I have been piling iron in that corner for 30+ years.

i don't know what you guys do in your shops to beat the walls up so much! I certainly do not have that same problem! maybe I just take better care of my property.